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North Korean leader says relations with US have improved

Kim also noted that the relations between the North and the South have improved, as well

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un

© AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

SEOUL, September 18. /TASS/. North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un said on Tuesday before the first round of talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in that relations between the two Koreas and North Korea’s relations with the United States have improved and praised the South Korean leader for his assistance in establishing dialogue with the US.

"Relations between the North and the South, and the North’s relations with the US have improved. President Moon Jae-in helped launch the historic talks between North Korea and the United States," the summit’s press center quoted Kim Jon-un as saying.

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North Korean leader personally met President of South Korea at Pyongyang airport

The South Korean president played a major mediatory role in the organizations of Kim’s meeting with US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12.

The first round of talks between the leaders of the two Koreas lasted for two hours, or by 30 minutes longer than planned. It results have not been made public. The second round is schedule for Wednesday.

The inter-Korean summit is being held in Pyongyang on September 18-20. It is the fifth meeting between the leaders of the North and the South in history and the third one in the current year. The previous two summits took place in the North Korean capital city in 2000 and 2007 with participation of the then South Korean presidents, Kim Dae-jung and Ron Moon-hyun, and the late North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il.

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